The Essence of Software Engineering: Applying the SEMAT Kernel

Book Description

SEMAT (Software Engineering Methods and
Theory) is an international initiative designed to identify a
common ground, or universal standard, for software engineering. It
is supported by some of the most distinguished contributors to the
field. Creating a simple language to describe methods and
practices, the SEMAT team expresses this common ground as a
kernel–or framework–of elements essential to all
software development.

The Essence of Software
Engineering introduces this kernel and shows how to apply
it when developing software and improving a team’s way of
working. It is a book for software professionals, not
methodologists. Its usefulness to development team members, who
need to evaluate and choose the best practices for their work, goes
well beyond the description or application of any single
method.

“Software is both a craft and a
science, both a work of passion and a work of principle. Writing
good software requires both wild flights of imagination and
creativity, as well as the hard reality of engineering tradeoffs.
This book is an attempt at describing that balance.”

—Robert Martin (unclebob)

“The work of Ivar Jacobson and his
colleagues, started as part of the SEMAT initiative, has taken a
systematic approach to identifying a ‘kernel’ of
software engineering principles and practices that have stood the
test of time and recognition.”

—Bertrand Meyer

“The software development industry
needs and demands a core kernel and language for defining software
development practices—practices that can be mixed and
matched, brought on board from other organizations; practices that
can be measured; practices that can be integrated; and practices
that can be compared and contrasted for speed, quality, and price.
This thoughtful book gives a good grounding in ways to think about
the problem, and a language to address the need, and every software
engineer should read it.”